U.S. patent number 4,832,214 [Application Number 07/170,328] was granted by the patent office on 1989-05-23 for glowing baby bottle nipple collar.
Invention is credited to Jerome W. Schrader, Kyle R. Weatherby.
United States Patent |
4,832,214 |
Schrader , et al. |
May 23, 1989 |
Glowing baby bottle nipple collar
Abstract
A non-toxic luminescent nipple retaining collar is provided for
baby bottles which enables those bottles to be seen and retrieved
in the dark without the aid of light. The invention aids parents in
locating the nursing bottle without turning on the light and
completely awakening a child or others in the room. The child, if
old enough, can retrieve the bottle himself and save the parents a
trip. The retaining collar can absorb and store light from any
natural or incandescent light source and emit that light for an
extended period of time.
Inventors: |
Schrader; Jerome W. (Fair Oaks,
CA), Weatherby; Kyle R. (Sacramento, CA) |
Family
ID: |
22619455 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/170,328 |
Filed: |
March 18, 1988 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/11.1;
215/276; 215/230 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J
9/00 (20130101); A61J 11/04 (20130101); A61J
17/1012 (20200501) |
Current International
Class: |
A61J
11/00 (20060101); A61J 11/04 (20060101); A61J
9/00 (20060101); A61J 17/00 (20060101); A61J
009/00 (); A61J 011/04 (); B65D 041/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/11.1-11.6,295,230,276 ;128/360
;250/462.1,463.1,464.1,465.1,466.1,467.1 ;D24/46,47 ;D9/436 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
568754 |
|
Jan 1959 |
|
CA |
|
2594328 |
|
Aug 1987 |
|
FR |
|
2169811 |
|
Jul 1986 |
|
GB |
|
Other References
"Plastics That Glow In The Dark", Modern Plastics, pp. 88-91, vol.
26, Oct., 1948..
|
Primary Examiner: Weaver; Sue A.
Claims
We claim:
1. A luminescent glow-in-the-dark collar for retaining a nipple on
a baby bottle, comprising;
a. a tubular ring wall sized to encompass an open neck of said baby
bottle, said ring wall having a substantially flat apertured top
surface and an oppositely disposed opened bottom end;
b. threads on an interior surface of said ring wall sized for
attachment of said opened bottom end to threads on said neck of
said baby bottle;
c. means for retaining said nipple with said means being said
aperture of said flat apertured surface sized to receive said
nipple with a flange of said nipple being retained between an
inside surface of said flat apertured surface and a top edge of
said baby bottle neck;
d. structure forming a gripping means on an outside surface of said
ring wall for rotating said collar on said baby bottle neck;
e. said collar manufactured of a non-toxic phosphorescent pigmented
thermoplastic compound.
2. The device of claim 1 with said structuring forming a gripping
means is a plurality of striations.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to infant feeding bottles and more precisely
to nipple retaining collars manufactured with luminescent material
which enables the bottle to be visible in the dark.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Past art patents were examined from a search conducted in the
following classes and subclasses:
215/11R, 128/359, 360, 252, and 250/462.1.
The following patents were those produced by the search:
A patent issued to Kern on July 16, 1912, U.S. Pat. No. 1,032,610,
shows a poison indicating bottle with a permanently disposed
interior chamber housing a light emitting compound. This device
would not be adaptable for use as a baby bottle nor especially as a
collar thereof, due to the threadless neck of the bottle and the
luminescent material being retained within a chamber in the bottle
wall, posing a potential danger if the bottle was broken and the
material ingested.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,349,396, issued to Van Clief, dated Aug. 10, 1920,
shows luminous labels, particularly directed towards preventing
administering harmful medications or compounds. This device would
be unsuitable for use with baby bottles due to the fact the labels
could be inadvertently removed by the child and ingested, and
constant washing would deteriorate the label.
A patent issued to Hollihan, dated July 7, 1953, U.S. Pat. No.
2,644,890, teaches an assortment of luminescent amusement devices.
None of the devices cited in the patent claim to be for use with
beverage containers of any kind nor could they be substituted with
our invention to accomplish the same directives.
Rosenfeld received U.S. Pat. No. 3,017,051, dated Jan. 16, 1962,
which shows luminescent beverage coasters. It is obvious the only
connection between this device and our invention is the light
emitting properties possessed by both.
A patent issued to Skidmore on June 1, 1965, U.S. Pat. No.
3,186,411, illustrates a luminous pacifier for infants. This
invention is not designed for use with baby bottles and could not
be substituted for our device.
Pearce was issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,003, on Nov. 12, 1968, which
shows an illuminated novelty bar display apparatus in which
portions of beverage glasses or mugs are illuminated by a concealed
apparatus located under a counter or bar. The devices outlined in
this patent require an additional outside electrical apparatus to
generate the luminescent effect, whereas our invention will
function independently for an extended period of time.
Frazier was issued U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,270, dated Mar. 21, 1972,
which teaches a non luminous nipple-retaining ring assembly for
baby bottles. This device is not designed for, nor does it
anticipate solving, the problem of locating a bottle in a darkened
environment.
A patent issued to Tesler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,571, dated Aug. 25,
1987, shows a one-piece luminous pacifier. As with the previous
pacifier, this device is not designed to retain a nipple to a
bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 286,911, issued to Campbell on Nov. 28, 1986,
shows a baby bottle having an aperture through the bottle portion
of the unit. Being a design patent, this application makes no claim
as to the function of the device, being issued on appearance only.
Our device not only has structural differences but has an explicit
function and purpose, having the ability to been seen in the
dark.
A design patent issued to Brown et al, issued on Apr. 9, 1985, U.S.
Pat. No. Des. 278,311, shows a combined hood and collar for a baby
bottle. Being a design patent as was the previously mentioned
device, the same argument applies; definite structural differences
exist and no function is claimed as to the device being luminescent
or visible in the dark.
To our knowledge, the foregoing patents represented devices most
pertinent to our invention. Bottles for nursing infants have been
in use for a considerable length of time and improvements made over
the years have effectively increased nursing bottle efficiency. No
viable improvement, however, has been accomplished towards solving
the problem of locating a misplaced bottle in the dark. On many
occasions where a parent wishes to quiet a child or put a child to
bed without turning the light on and risking an awakening the
bottle cannot be found in the dark. Even if the child is crying,
and especially if there are others in the room, the risk of
completely awakening him or her is greater if a light is turned on.
There are other times when a light is not readily available, such
as when camping or traveling at night, and the bottle must be
located by touch. Also if a child is older, he or she can easily
reclaim a bottle that can be seen and save the parents a trip.
Therefore, a bottle which can be located at night or in dark
environments without the aid of a light has obvious benefits. None
of the previous patents were structured for the purpose of
illuminating a baby bottle for the intention of making location of
the device easier at night. We therefore feel our device has new
and useful features not found in the past art devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In practicing our invention, we have developed an eight sided
plastic illuminated nipple collar, with an accessary protective
cap, for retaining a nipple on a conventional baby bottle.
Therefore, it is a primary object of our invention to provide a
plastic non-toxic luminescent nipple collar for baby bottles which
allows the collar to glow in the dark, making the assembled bottle
visible and therefore easy to locate at night.
Another object of our invention is to provide a light emitting
nipple collar adapted to be utilized with all conventional baby
bottles.
A further object of our invention is to provide a nipple collar
manufactured of a luminescent material capable of absorbing light
from artificial or natural sources, such as light bulbs and the
sun, and then retaining and emitting that light for an extended
period of time.
A still further object of our invention is to provide an
illuminated, octagonal nipple collar having vertical striations on
the eight sides for better gripping traction, useful when applying
the cap to the bottle.
An even further object of our invention is to provide an
illuminated nipple collar manufactured of a non-toxic commercially
available luminescent material, provided in pigments, vinyl films
and paint, which is heat resistant, dishwasher and microwave safe,
and available in a variety of colors.
Other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent
from a study of the following specification and accompanying
drawings, which are in themselves merely illustrative of the
structure of the device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of the preferred embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a cross sectioned side view showing internal threads.
FIG. 3 is a top view.
FIG. 4 is a bottom view.
FIG. 5 A is a perspective view of the collar positioned over B, a
nipple, which in turn is positioned over C, a bottle.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment assembled
onto a bottle with attached nipple.
FIG. 7 illustrates the illumination of the preferred embodiment
permitting the device to be visible over a conventional bottle.
DRAWING REFERENCE NUMBERS
10 retaining collar
12 tubular ring wall
14 apertured surface
16 interior wall surface
18 interior threads
20 bottle
22 exterior wall surface
24 panels
26 striations
28 nipple
30 nipple flange
34 baby
36 luminescence
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings at FIG. 1 where the preferred
embodiment of our invention is illustrated in a side view.
Retaining collar 10 can be manufactured of a variety of
thermoplastics which are readily available on the open market. One
suggested material used for the glow-in-the-dark effect is
non-toxic SPOT-LITE GLO SERIES 1000 and 5100 manufactured by
Hanovia, a division of Canrad Inc., 100 Chestnut St., Newark, NJ
07105. SPOT-LITE GLOW in-the-dark material can be added to the base
thermoplastic material in the form of pigments or dies, and is then
molded as an intrinsic part of the device. SPOT-LITE SERIES 5100
Paints can also be applied after the device has been molded.
Retaining collar 10 is comprised of short tubular ring wall 12
having an opened bottom section and a top section constituting
apertured surface 14. Interior wall surface 16 of tubular ring wall
12 contains a series of interior threads 18 which serve as the
means of attachment for retaining collar 10 to bottle 20. Exterior
wall surface 22 is formed into an octagon with eight vertical
panels 24. Exterior wall surface 22 also has a multiple of vertical
striations 26 which form a gripping surface.
During assembly, retaining collar 10 is inserted over nipple 28,
through apertured surface 14, with nipple flange 30 in horizontal
contact with the inside surface of apertured surface 14. Retaining
collar 10, with inserted nipple 28, is then attached to the
threaded neck of bottle 20 by interior threads 18. When assembled
onto bottle 20, retaining ring 10 can be easily seen in the dark by
baby 34 due to luminescence 36, produced by retaining collar
10.
Retaining collar 10 can be "recharged" from any light source, even
household lamps, and will retain and slowly emit that light over an
extended time. When the luminescence becomes too dim, retaining
collar 10 can be placed in a window sill or under a lamp for as
little as 30 minutes and retain luminescence for up to eight hours,
varying slightly depending upon the intensity of light
absorbtion.
* * * * *